Yes, Cathay want to show the LCC and any putative backers that just importing the latest business model from abroad isn't as easy as it looks
Amusingly, a couple of weeks ago, Valuair put up their fares, signalling to Cathay they wanted an end to the bloodbath. Cathay has continued with the low fares, and came out with flight & hotel for 389SGD.
A320 vs B777-300 (with 25 tonnes of cargo on board) means it is easy for CX/SQ/TG to sell off 150 seats at below LCC fare, and still make money